Kering announced that Valérie Duport, chief communications and image officer at Kering, has left her post at the French luxury group, effective March 8.
SEE ALSO: Kering sales contract in 2023 on continued softness in Q4, Asia Pacific and Japan bright spots
The Paris-based company said that Duport “has taken the decision to pursue other projects outside Kering.”
A successor to Duport is yet to be named.
A luxury veteran, Duport joined Kering in early 2016 after a 27-year stint at luxury rival Chanel.
Reporting to Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault, Duport for the last eight years designed and implemented the company’s communications strategy, promoting the group’s image in the luxury goods world and raising its profile and visibility.
In September, she oversaw the 10th anniversary of Kering and the group’s 60th anniversary, while also driving forward the communications strategies of the company’s main brands, which includes Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, among others.
She was also member of the group’s executive committee.
Duport began her career at Chanel in 1988 in the press department of the firm’s fragrances and beauty division. In 1994, she joined the communications department of Chanel’s watches and fine jewelry division, which she managed from 1997. In 2008, she was appointed international director of press services and external relations at Chanel.
Duport’s shock exit comes just weeks after the luxury conglomerate posted lacklustre sales results for the year 2023.
For the year ending December 31, Kering said annual revenues fell 4 percent to EUR 19.6 billion in 2023, following a fourth-quarter sales decline of 6 percent, or down 4 percent on a comparable basis.